44-Year-Old Mother of 8 Dies in Police Holding Cell; Authorities Say Officers Thought She Was Sleeping

A 44-year-old mother of eight arrested on a shoplifting charge for the third time in recent weeks died in a Westchester County holding cell Monday, according to officials and a published report.

Houston parents say their daughter’s second-degree burns were the result of a nurse microwaving a diaper full of water and applying it to the baby’s foot in an attempt to conduct a blood test. NOTE: Some of the images depicted in this video are graphic. KPRC’s Mark Boyle reports.

Turner, who had eight children, according to Westchester News 12, had been arrested Saturday afternoon in Restaurant Depot, a wholesale cash and carry foodservice supplier, on Columbus Avenue. She was brought to the Mount Vernon holding facility and processed.

On Sunday, around 7:30 p.m., authorities say Turner complained of feeling ill and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Turner was treated at the hospital and released by doctors; she returned to the holding cell shortly before 10 p.m.

Less than 24 hours later, she was dead. Authorities say Turner was found unresponsive in the holding cell around 2 p.m. Monday when authorities went to take her to a court hearing. She had last been seen conscious, sitting up in her cell, some time between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., authorities said.

Inmates at the Mount Vernon facility are continually monitored on surveillance video and police log their behavior on an hourly basis. Authorities say the last note on Turner indicated she was laying on her side and appeared to be sleeping.

Officials say nothing appeared out of the ordinary; Turner was the only one in her cell.

Turner likely died between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., officials said, though the investigation is preliminary. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine her cause of death.

Police say the woman had previously undergone bariatric surgery and had a history of hypertension. They say there is no indication of foul play.

The woman's husband, Herman Turner, told Westchester News 12 he wanted answers -- and he said he wasn't getting any.

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"I can't get any answers from detectives, anyone," Herman Turner told the website. "She was a wife. She was a mother. She was mine."

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